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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23330860">Spell of Protection</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/melanoms/pseuds/melanoms'>melanoms</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>50 Kisses [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Doctor Strange (2016), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Hostage Situations, Implied/Referenced Torture, Kidnapping, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Avengers, Protective Stephen Strange, Reader-Insert</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 06:09:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,292</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23330860</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/melanoms/pseuds/melanoms</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kiss request: “throwing their arms around the other person’s neck, hugging them close before kissing them passionately on the lips” with Stephen Strange</p><p>Ten years ago you joined Doctors Without Borders but were taken hostage by a terrorist cell. The compound gets invaded by a mysterious crew of heroes. Amongst them is a man you never thought you'd see again: Doctor Stephen Strange.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Stephen Strange/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>50 Kisses [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1671802</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>152</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Spell of Protection</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I know that if a person was actually kidnapped and held hostage for ten years, this would not at all happen. But I’m using a generous creative license for the purpose of story.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“You’re going to be okay. We’re going to be okay,” you whimpered through trembling lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You wrapped yourself around the child as if your body could protect him from the explosions. He clutched the collar of your scrubs with white knuckles and buried his face in your chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rocking the two of you back and forth to the symphony of destruction, you stared at the stone walls of your home. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ten years. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The tallies barely etched in stone told you it was ten years since you were taken hostage. You lowered your lips to the boy’s matted mess of hair, trying to bless him with a spell of protection from your lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If only you could believe in magic in this moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With each breath you took, you wondered if it would be your last. But before you could question the finality of your existence any longer, the wall in front of you erupted with a deafening cry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The child in your arms shrieked and wrapped himself around your frail ribs. Ears still ringing, you dared to raise your gaze. You narrowed your eyes as you tried to comprehend the sight before you.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A red and gold robot stood up from the rubble. One of your least favorite captors marched towards him with a machine gun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You guys could really use an interior decorator. The dark and creepy cave is so 2008.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wait, was there a man in there? He extended his palm in front of him and blasted your captor through the hole in the wall. Then he, it?, turned its head to you. You scrambled into the corner with an arm still wrapped around the boy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cap, we’ve got hostages in here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But before you could find out what ‘Cap’ was or what this metal man wanted with you, another blast exploded your tiny corner of the terrorist compound. At the whim of physics, your body went soaring through the air. The impact tore the boy from your arms. As if your protection spell actually worked, the robotic man shielded him from the blast.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Turning your head, you were a few stories away from painting the ground with a splatter of your body. But a ring of orange sparks started swirling midair. Before you knew it, you fell through the ring and landed in the arms of a stocky Asian man.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got her!” he cried out. He placed you behind the protection of a tank, now far enough away from immediate danger. You nodded and he dashed off to rejoin the battle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The scene before you was utterly overwhelming. The metal guy zipped through the air and sent blasts from his palms to attack the terrorists. A man in a blue suit was swinging a patriotically decorated shield to knock out a line of enemies. Your breath hitched as a redheaded woman in black took out four of your captors at once.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Your eyes darted all around, trying to soak in the scene of utter chaos. But your heart stopped when you saw a man, a man who’s eyes made your skin crawl and voice scream for the past ten years, prepared a rocket launcher and aimed it directly at your saviors.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You howled as he initiated his assault, not that anyone could hear you. But to their saving grace, a figure came flying through the air by the ends of a maroon cape. He jut out his hands and the familiar orange sparks created a geometric array. The moment the RPG hit his shield, it exploded in a flurry of white sparks, a dazzling show of harmless fireworks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The crew continued to assault the compound until all the terrorists were either dead or captured. You stepped out from behind the tank and faltered throughout the aftermath of the battle. The dusty rubble clung to the sweat, blood, and tears across your face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The robot in red and gold slowly descended next to you. Planting its boots on the ground with a clank, it released the boy from its arms. He came running to you and wrapped his arms around your legs. You instantly lowered yourself to him and cried as you held him close, afraid he might disintegrate any moment. You couldn’t lose the only kind companion you had for the past few months.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The mask came off the robot to reveal that a man was in fact underneath the metal armor. But your eyes went wide when you saw that it was the billionaire and weapons manufacturer Tony Stark.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What happened to the rest of the world in the past ten years?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you done showboating, Stark?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Your blood went cold at the sound of that voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I’m not the one doing literal magic tricks in the middle of a fight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For the last time, they’re not—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he froze when he saw you. Your knees went weak and the earth started to spin. You put your hand to your head when your feet started to fumble underneath you. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He dashed to catch your coming fall. But you flinched at his touch and leaped out of his arms, sending the little boy wrapped around your legs to the ground with a soft thud. The magician withdrew his hands and you leaned back, leaving a single step between you.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony narrowed his eyes as he studied the interaction. Stephen Strange stared at you in pure disbelief. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s been twelve years since you joined Doctors Without Borders against his protests.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ten years since you went missing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eight years since you were presumed dead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One minute that he could do nothing but stare at you. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ghost of a dead woman.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“S-Stephen?” you squeaked the name you never thought would pass your lips again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded slowly and you gulped. You took a half step to narrow the distance between you. You traced a finger around the chain on his neck. With a sharp inhale, you raised your gaze to look him in the eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Stephen was never good with apologies. But the look in his eyes said sorry in a way that words never could. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was an utterly spiritual experience.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You wrapped your arms around his neck and gasped out a sob. He tentatively placed his hands on your back. Confirming that you wouldn’t recoil at his touch, he drew you closer to his chest and buried his face in your matted mess of hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You wailed out a cry that both broke his heart and put it back together. Your fingers crawled up his neck and rested in his hair, pulling and tangling his locks to knot them like your own. You drew his face closer to yours. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At first, his neck was stiff with the burden of regret. But he eventually succumbed under the persistence of your longing heart. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When his lips brushed yours, you flinched. He sharply withdrew himself. But you shook your head and pulled him in again, determined to start rewriting the harshness of the past ten years.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As tears continued to rush down your face, you lost yourself in a kiss with Stephen Strange. You nipped his lip, traced his tongue, and consumed him fully. Allowing his regret to drown out your fear, his hesitancy to absorb your sorrows, and aching heart to swallow you whole. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The cocoon of his pain being infinitely more comfortable and safe than your own.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Breaking away from his kiss, you returned your head to his chest with soft whimpers. You breathed a sigh of relief when you felt another pair of small hands wrap about your calf. Stephen held you tight as if you would disintegrate at any moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vowing that from that moment on, you would always be under a spell of his protection.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Enjoying the series? Read the guidelines and submit a request <a href="https://melanoms.tumblr.com/post/613164682334945280/lets-kiss-50-kiss-challenge">here.</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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